By Donald Zuhn –

We previously reported that the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) had begun requiring that Applicants submit an inventor ID number for every inventor along with each inventor’s nationality for Chinese patent applications filed on or after January 1, 2026 (see “CNIPA Implements Inventor ID Requirement“).  Pursuant to the change in CNIPA’s inventor information requirements, the inventor ID number can be submitted at the time of filing or within two months from the date of a CNIPA notification requesting the inventor ID number.  For Chinese inventors, the ID number is the inventor’s National ID number (i.e., an 18-digit Citizen Identity Number issued by the Chinese government), and for non-Chinese inventors, a passport number or any other government-issued valid identifying number, such as a driver’s license number, will be accepted by CNIPA.

Since our previous report, however, we have received advice from two other Chinese law firms that has muddied the waters with respect to the new inventor information requirements.  According to the Zhong Lun law firm, pursuant to the “latest guidelines and actual practices,” ID numbers must be submitted for Chinese inventors for applications (including Chinese national phase entry of a PCT application) filed on or after January 1, 2026, but only nationalities need to be submitted for non-Chinese inventors.  Thus, passport numbers or driver’s license numbers are not required for non-Chinese inventors.

The Chinese patent and trademark firm, China Patent Agent (U.K.) Ltd. (“CPA”), distributed an email alert regarding the requirements for inventor information under the new Patent Examination Guidelines which took effect on January 1, 2026.  CPA noted that it had discussed the new requirements with CNIPA directors and had “learned that the guidelines for foreign inventors’ ID information will be applied [by CNIPA] with a degree of flexibility.”  In particular, CPA noted that:

[I]f the national ID number or passport ID number of a foreign inventor is not readily available at the time of Chinese filing, applicants may leave the ID field blank during initial submission.  If CNIPA identifies this as an issue, it may issue a notification to correct, at which point a response with a statement of opinion can be filed to address the matter [emphasis in original].

CPA also noted that:

The requirement for the less-sensitive nationality information is kept unchanged for both foreign inventors and Chinese nationals. That is, it is still required to specify the nationality of all inventors at the time of submission of a new application. It also remains the case that the 18-digit Chinese ID number of all Chinese inventors must be submitted together with the application filing [emphasis in original].

While CPA reported that it “successfully submitted several new applications without providing ID information of foreign inventors,” it pointed out that its email alert reflected the firm’s “current understanding [of the requirement] based on direct consultation [with CNIPA personnel],” and did not constitute “an official announcement from CNIPA.”

So, with respect to CNIPA’s new inventor information requirements, CNIPA is either requiring Applicants to submit inventor ID numbers for non-Chinese inventors, is not requiring Applicants to submit inventor ID numbers for non-Chinese inventors, or is applying the new requirement “with a degree of flexibility.”

Patent Docs will continue to monitor and report on the new requirement as more information becomes available.  Patent Docs also wishes to thank its readers for alerting us to the “alternative views” on the new inventor ID requirement.